“The community pharmacy has always been at the center of public health and drug distribution,” said Sultan “Sid” Dajani, who has been running his own community pharmacy in Bishopstoke, Southampton for 18 years.
“But in recent years, our role in society has become even more important. Since Covid, we have taken on more and more responsibilities to ease the pressure on the NHS. On any given day, you have no idea who walks in the door, whether they come in to remove stitches, pick up a prescription, or remove bees or larvae from your ears – what happened – whether you need sexual or psychological needs Health advice or a referral to the emergency room help.
The greater the burden on the family doctor and the longer we have to wait for an appointment with him, the more likely we are to first turn to the pharmacist for advice.
Shilan Shah, who runs his practice in New Barnet, London, says: “Pharmacy is the busiest medical practice with about 1.8 million visits a day across the country.” closed permanently since 2015 and 418 in the last two years alone. “Continuing the closure on this scale,” says Shah, “will leave a huge hole in the healthcare system and put even more pressure on general practitioners and hospitals.” We need more pharmacies, not fewer.”
And so the average pharmacist has to make do with increasingly difficult circumstances. “Sometimes it still feels like we’re just buying drugs,” says Dajani, “but we’re doing so much more. We’re not just shopkeepers and it’s not just about textbooks, it’s about experience and Knows and we listen to every person .patient and then judge them accordingly.
“Recently, for example, an elderly gentleman in his eighties came to my office. He wasn’t feeling well, so I took his blood pressure, which was very high. I sent him straight to the emergency room. Three weeks later, he came with his son, who said he wanted to shake my hand because the hospital agreed that his case was urgent. He was given a pacemaker. So I saved his life, which was really good and that’s important to me.
“Sometime in December, a lady came in who had pricked her finger with a holly leaf while she was making a Christmas wreath. It was very inflamed and swollen. She asked for some cream, but I was worried so I sent her to the emergency room. Her husband came a week later to tell them to operate as it had progressed to sepsis. Luckily, they saved her hand and she only lost the tip of her thumb.
“An expert recently calculated that we are saving half a million family doctor visits each week and over 70,000 emergency and routine visits per week. However, our funding has not increased and we are not going on strike, so in fact we are constantly fighting for effective disease control.
“At the same time, we remain accessible to everyone who visits us. And if they need a little more time with me and a bit of privacy, I can meet them at my office, usually within 10 or 15 minutes of their arrival, without an appointment.
“But what really, really, really bothers me is when people moan when they have to wait to see us. This makes me angry. When I’m in the doctor’s office and I’m talking to someone about their mental or sexual health, or I’m talking to someone with dementia and I’m in tears, I don’t want to open up to some idiot who scolds and scolds and complains about my staff because that we had already made them wait 15 minutes. We must prioritize and do our best for everyone. We are a refuge, a safe space. I want people to remember this.”
The shah is also under a lot of pressure. “It was very intense for us during the pandemic,” he said. “While almost every other store was closed, we were open all the time. It was difficult and at first we struggled to get the necessary personal protective equipment. We finally got it, so we were protected, but it was a time of increased stress for everyone.
“Ill-treatment can be commonplace for anyone dealing with the public, and it happened a lot in healthcare — and in my dispensary too. People were upset that their medicines weren’t delivered on time or their prescriptions couldn’t be filled. There was a lot of screaming. Of course, it’s not our fault, but they got back at us anyway. It was an exciting time.
“It’s hard work at times, yes, and it’s never fun to be a victim of abuse, but if we can help people in their time of need, it’s worth it.” Pharmacies have already responded to ongoing financial pressures by reducing opening hours and charging for services that were previously provided free of charge. There’s a lot of tension there. But that’s why it seems so important, such a vital job.”
Source: I News
I’m Raymond Molina, a professional writer and journalist with over 5 years of experience in the media industry. I currently work for 24 News Reporters, where I write for the health section of their news website. In my role, I am responsible for researching and writing stories on current health trends and issues. My articles are often seen as thought-provoking pieces that provide valuable insight into the state of society’s wellbeing.